Quincaillerie

The screws (4 400) and brackets arrived today. In anticipation of global warming bringing the sea closer to Maison Camy The Architect has specified stainless steel for all the fixings.
The order has been placed for the timber cladding. Russian Larch was the final choice.
2 250 metres of 22 x 55 finished russian larch. It should be arriving in three weeks time.

Only two items left on the shopping list before works commence: fibre cement panels for cladding the slab edge detail between first and second floor glazing on the rear elevation, and last but not least - the scaffolding.

Wood

Prices are coming in for the timber cladding. The Red Cedar is looking decidedly expensive. Despite a long tradition of importation into France from Canada via the port of La Rochelle it seems to be the economic outsider. The essence 'most likely to' for the moment is the Siberian Larch. The technical term for the cladding is called 'clairevoie' in french, which translates as 'hit and miss'. This basically means that timber battens, in this case with a trapezoidal section, are screwed or nailed to a timber substructure at regular intervals leaving a small shadow gap. The timber external skin is more or less purely decorative. You could say that it protects the real weatherproof layers behind from attack fromUV light. Siberian Larch, like the Red Cedar, does not need treating for external use.

Timber framing and timber cladding in the domestic housing market has been around in the UK for a long time. Back in the early eighties it was already a commonplace choice of building technique. In France, however, there has always been a reluctance from the general public to accept timber framed houses as a long term solution. The French ideal is of course as everyone knows a chateau built of stone!

Things are changing. Since the turn of the millenium French architects have been adding wood into their palette of materials, essentially in public works projects. The general population has become accustomed to seeing wood on the facades of their libraries and schools. The ecological awakening here is late in coming but quite extraordinary in its ferocity and no self respecting low energy building project is complete without its obligatory 'badge' of visible wood. All this publicity will eventually trickle down into the housing market. The credit crunch will help, along with the increasingly demanding thermal efficiency targets set by the government. Timber wall construction has a lot of voids and filling those voids with insulations means you can easily obtain the lower U values without loosing floor area.

On a recent factory visit, sounding out a steel and aluminium curtain wall contractor for a project, the managing director proudly presented me a partitionned off section of the factory where wood working equipement was being installed for assembly line production. The target market being the timber framed 'pavillon' or detached private residence. He already had is first orders and was, despite current trends, busy hiring technical staff for the drawing office.
The future, at least in France, is wooden.

Yes!

Only one thing to say, apart from thank you America:

I wouldn't like to be a moose in Alaska this weekend.

A wintercoat for Maison Camy

The insulation arrived today and I can confirm; it does smell!


On the positive side however, it is made from 66% 'post consumer' recycled glass. Which gives me a sort of feel good effect from knowing that all my bottled beer drinking efforts are going to good use.


With the insulation came the glue and the elusive 'F bracket'.


Next on the list timber and scaffolding. The Client is going to be so warm this winter.